Catalans Flood Streets for Secession Vote

Thursday's demonstration illustrated how the Scottish vote in just one week is captivating breakaway minded Europeans in several countries, AP reported.

Sporting bright yellow and red shirts representing the colorus of the Catalonian flag emblazoned with the phrase "Now is the time," protesters in Barcelona shouted "Independencia!"

They crowded into two avenues that look like a "V'' from the air to signal their desire for a Catalonia independence referendum that the central government in Madrid insists would be illegal.

Just how many showed up was in dispute after the protest ended on Thursday evening. Barcelona police said 1.8 million people participated but the Spanish Interior Ministry's regional office in Catalonia put the number at no more than 525,000.

Catalonia regional leader Artur Mas said his government is not wavering from plans to hold a November 9 referendum in the region of 7.6 million people, even though experts say any attempt is sure to be blocked by Spain's Constitutional Court. Mas has repeatedly said he won't call an illegal vote.

"This is a very powerful message we are sending to Europe and the world," Mas said. "Now is the moment to sit down and negotiate the terms for the Catalan people to be able to express themselves at the polls."

Unlike the Scottish ballot, a vote in Catalonia wouldn't result in secession. Mas' proposed referendum would ask Catalans whether they favour secession. If the answer is Yes, Mas says, that would give him a political mandate to negotiate a path toward independence.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to block the vote because Spain's constitution doesn't allow referendums that don't include all Spaniards, but Mas told reporters that would be a mistake.

"The Catalan issue is one of the biggest issues the Spanish government is facing," Mas said. "It is an error to try and solve this through legal means. Political problems are solved through politics, not with legal threats."

If Madrid refuses to allow an independence vote, a go-ahead by Mas could put him in perilous legal terrain. When the northern Basque region failed to obtain permission for a similar referendum in 2005, Spain said Basque leaders could face jail if they went ahead.

The next step for Mas comes the day after Scotland's vote, when the Catalan parliament is expected to approve a measure giving him the power to call a referendum. Rajoy's government is then expected to ask Spain's Constitutional Court to rule the vote illegal and experts believe the court will do so.

If that happens and Mas decides to obey the ruling, he could hold Catalan regional elections as an unofficial referendum, with parties obliged to state where they stand on independence.

Despite sharing cultural traits with the rest of Spain, many Catalans take pride in the deep differences based on their language, which is spoken side-by-side with Spanish in the wealthy region that is key to helping Spain emerge from its financial crisis.

Polls indicate Catalans are roughly evenly split on independence - but that figure drops significantly when people are asked if they favour an independent Catalonia outside the European Union.